Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Amir of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to the questions of visitors to his Facebook page "Fiqhi"
To Agus Trisa
Question:
assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu May Allah protect you wherever you are I want to ask you about this noble verse Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says: وَاِذَا سَاَلَكَ عِبَادِيْ عَنِّيْ فَاِنِّيْ قَرِيْبٌ ۗ اُجِيْبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ اِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِيْ وَلْيُؤْمِنُوْا بِيْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُوْنَ
Is it true that God answers all human prayers?
Is there a prayer that God does not answer?
Some people ask, we have prayed for Israel to be destroyed by Allah, but why are they still strong and continuing to attack Gaza?
Thank you for your answer, may Allah reward you with the best reply wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu
Answer:
Walaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,
There are matters that must be understood regarding supplication (du’a):
1- If a believer supplicates to Allah with a sincere heart, in a prayer that does not involve severing kinship ties, Allah (swt) responds in one of three ways, as stated in the Book of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ:
Allah (swt) answers the call of the supplicant when he calls upon Him, and He answers the one in distress when he calls upon Him:
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ
"And your Lord says, 'Call upon Me; I will respond to you.'" (Ghafir 40:60)
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ
"And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me." (Al-Baqarah 2:186)
أَمَّنْ يُجِيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ السُّوءَ
"Is He [not best] who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him and removes evil?" (An-Naml 27:62)
However, the "response" has a shari'i reality explained by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:
مَا مِنْ مُسْلِمٍ يَدْعُو اللهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِدَعْوَةٍ لَيْسَ فِيهَا إِثْمٌ وَلَا قَطِيعَةُ رَحِمٍ، إِلَّا أَعْطَاهُ اللَّهُ بِهَا إِحْدَى ثَلَاثِ خِصَالٍ: إِمَّا أَنْ يُعَجِّلَ لَهُ دَعْوَتَهُ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ يَدَّخِرَهَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ يَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ مِنَ السُّوءِ مِثْلَهَا. قَالُوا: إِذًا نُكْثِرُ. قَالَ: اللهُ أَكْثَرُ
"There is no Muslim who calls upon Allah (azj) with a supplication that does not involve sin or severing of kinship ties, except that Allah gives him one of three things: either He hastens his response, or He stores it for him in the Hereafter, or He averts from him an equivalent evil." They said: "Then we will supplicate much." He said: "Allah is more [bountiful]." (Narrated by Ahmad)
Similarly:
لَا يَزَالُ يُسْتَجَابُ لِلْعَبْدِ مَا لَمْ يَدْعُ بِإِثْمٍ أَوْ قَطِيعَةُ رَحِمٍ مَا لَمْ يَسْتَعْجِلْ. قِيلَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، مَا الِاسْتِعْجَالُ؟ قَالَ: يَقُولُ قَدْ دَعَوْتُ وَقَدْ دَعَوْتُ فَلَمْ أَرَ يَسْتَجِيبُ لِي فَيَسْتَحْسِرُ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ وَيَدَعُ الدُّعَاءَ
"A servant's prayer continues to be answered as long as he does not pray for a sin or for the severing of kinship ties, and as long as he is not hasty." It was said: "O Messenger of Allah, what is hastiness?" He said: "To say, 'I have prayed and I have prayed, and I have not seen it being answered,' and he then becomes frustrated and gives up the prayer." (Narrated by Muslim)
Thus, we supplicate to Allah (swt). If we are truthful, sincere, and obedient, we should be certain of a response in the sense clarified by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
2- Supplication is not the shari'i method (tariqah) for achieving a goal in all cases. It is recommended (mandub), but it is not the method for victory in wars or for establishing the State, etc. The Messenger ﷺ equipped the army at Badr, organized the soldiers in their positions, and prepared them well for fighting. Then, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered the canopy (al-’arish) to supplicate to Allah for victory, increasing his supplication until Abu Bakr (ra) said to him: "Some of this is sufficient for you, O Messenger of Allah." (Sirah Ibn Hisham). Therefore, supplication does not mean neglecting the material means (akhdh bil-asbab); rather, it is inseparable from them.
Also, whoever wishes for the Khilafah to be established again must not limit himself to supplicating to his Lord for its achievement. Instead, he must work with those working to establish it, while asking Allah for help in that, asking for its speedy realization, and persisting in sincere supplication to Allah while simultaneously taking the material means.
This applies to all actions: a person performs the action sincerely for Allah, truthfully following the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and supplicates persistently. Allah is the All-Hearing, the Responder.
3- We have previously answered a similar question on 04 Dhu al-Qi'dah 1432 AH – 01/10/2011 CE, which included:
[...Regarding supplication while taking the material means, it has an impact on results. This was the practice of the Messenger ﷺ and his Companions (ra). The Messenger ﷺ would prepare the army and then enter the canopy to supplicate. The Muslims at Al-Qadisiyyah prepared their equipment to cross the river while Sa’d (ra) turned to Allah in supplication... and so it is with the sincere believers; they prepare the means and initiate supplication. One seeking provision strives and works hard while supplicating, and a student studies and works diligently while asking Allah (swt) for success; this will have an impact on the results, by Allah’s permission.
It states in The Concepts (Al-Mafaheem) on the last page: (However, it must be known that although the action indicated by the method is a material action with tangible results, this action must be directed by the commands and prohibitions of Allah, and the objective of directing it by Allah’s commands and prohibitions must be the pleasure of Allah. Similarly, a Muslim must be dominated by his realization of his connection with Allah (swt), thereby drawing closer to Him through prayer, supplication, recitation of the Quran, and the like. A Muslim must believe that victory is from Allah. Therefore, there must be Taqwa rooted in the hearts to implement the laws of Allah, and there must be supplication, the remembrance of Allah, and a continuous connection with Allah when performing all actions.) It is clear from this the importance of pairing supplication with taking the material means in all the believer’s actions. This importance is emphasized by the repetition of the phrase "there must be" to indicate the extreme importance of all actions being coupled with supplication and a continuous connection with Allah...
Using supplication alongside taking the material means is, as we have said, what the Messenger ﷺ, his Companions (ra), and the believers were upon. When paired, they have an impact on the results by Allah’s permission. Using them together does not contradict the Islamic method. Rather, what contradicts it is restricting oneself to supplication alone without the method that the texts have clarified for implementing the Islamic idea...]
Therefore, regarding what came in your question about supplicating for the eradication of the Jewish entity—supplication alone is not sufficient. Rather, the army of a state that fights the Jews must be paired with supplication, as was the practice of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his Companions (ra). And Allah is the One whose help is sought.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
04 Rabi' al-Akhir 1446 AH 07/10/2024 CE
Link to the answer from the Amir's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AtaabuAlrashtah.A.HT/posts/122125130186447297